Bathroom Plumbing Tips From the Experts

As far as home plumbing is concerned, your bathroom is the premier room in the house. The tub and shower, sink and toilet all have important plumbing elements to consider.

Naturally, calling a qualified plumber is your best bet when you encounter serious plumbing issues in your bathroom. However, if you follow some expert bathroom plumbing tips, you may be able prevent such problems in the first place, or at least limit the damage before a plumber arrives.

Catch the Hair

No matter how thick and luxurious your hair may look, you’re losing some every time you step into the shower or bathtub! Over time, these few strands will create a ball of hair that may require a visit from your plumber.

To prevent this from happening, purchase a fine mesh strainer that’s designed to fit over the tub or shower drains. These strainers will allow the water to flow through but will catch all the hair that would have gone down the drain. Make sure you clean the strainer out regularly to ensure your shower is draining properly.

Keep Garbage Out of the Toilet

This is another preventative measure that will help you keep your toilet running well. Many people seem to feel that because you flush toilet paper, any paper product is fair game. This is not the case, and you’re asking for a clogged toilet is you start flushing things like cotton balls, sanitary pads, make-up pads or diapers down the toilet.

Shut Off the Water

Anytime you are going to perform a minor repair like changing a washer or gasket, don’t forget to shut off the water supply to the part you’re working on. If the water is still flowing freely in the pipes and you start loosening bolts, you might have a big mess on your hands. This step seems overly simple, but it’s also easy to forget.

If you need to empty the toilet tank, wait until the water is shut off and then flush it a few times, or until the water in the tank is as low as it will go.

Keep the Plunger Handy

It may be tempting to dump a bunch of chemicals down a clogged drain, but using your plunger will bring much better results. Sometimes, the chemicals you find in home repair sections can do more harm than good.

Hold the plunger over the drain so it is straight, and then push it down quickly to form a seal. Move the plunger up and down up to 20 times, and try a few rounds if the clog isn’t cleared up after the first time. Turn to your plunger each time you encounter a clog and you’ll clear up the problem more often than not.

Know When to Call

Always keep in mind that plumbing is a major part of your home that must be taken seriously. Problems can come on fast, and while fixing them yourself is a desirable option for many homeowners, there is a limit.

Call a professional if you have an obvious plumbing emergency, or if you’ve tried to clear up the problem yourself several times, unsuccessfully. A plumbing issue isn’t one thing you definitely don’t want to leave and try to fix again later.